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Grades 1–5 · printable + timed

Subtraction Timed Test 0–12

Print it with the answer key on page 2, or run the timer here.

Operation
Fact range
Problems
Time limit

Subtraction · 0–12 · 20 problems · 1 minute NameDateScore
  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12
  13. 13
  14. 14
  15. 15
  16. 16
  17. 17
  18. 18
  19. 19
  20. 20
Answer key · Subtraction · 0–12 · 20 problems NameDate
  1. 1 13 − 1 12
  2. 2 3 − 3 0
  3. 3 8 − 2 6
  4. 4 14 − 5 9
  5. 5 10 − 2 8
  6. 6 4 − 0 4
  7. 7 7 − 6 1
  8. 8 7 − 7 0
  9. 9 8 − 5 3
  10. 10 10 − 3 7
  11. 11 1 − 1 0
  12. 12 17 − 6 11
  13. 13 12 − 8 4
  14. 14 11 − 4 7
  15. 15 4 − 4 0
  16. 16 15 − 11 4
  17. 17 13 − 3 10
  18. 18 2 − 0 2
  19. 19 8 − 6 2
  20. 20 23 − 11 12
0 correct of 20

Correct 0 Wrong 0 Blank 20

0:00 elapsed of 1:00

Elapsed 0s Left 60s

A timed sheet on 0–12

All subtraction facts from 0 − 0 to 24 − 12, with no negative answers. Every problem on the sheet is drawn from that set and nothing outside it.

Choose 20, 50 or 100 problems and a limit of 1, 2 or 5 minutes, then print the sheet with its answer key on page two, or start the timer and type into the same grid. The problems are drawn again every time the page loads, so a second sheet is not a copy of the first. How the counts and limits work is on its own page, along with what a timed test does and does not measure.

Thirteen rows, with the answers

What the 0–12 subtraction set contains, one row per fact family.
Fact family Problems drawnAnswers
Subtracting 0 0 − 0 to 12 − 00 to 12
Subtracting 1 1 − 1 to 13 − 10 to 12
Subtracting 2 2 − 2 to 14 − 20 to 12
Subtracting 3 3 − 3 to 15 − 30 to 12
Subtracting 4 4 − 4 to 16 − 40 to 12
Subtracting 5 5 − 5 to 17 − 50 to 12
Subtracting 6 6 − 6 to 18 − 60 to 12
Subtracting 7 7 − 7 to 19 − 70 to 12
Subtracting 8 8 − 8 to 20 − 80 to 12
Subtracting 9 9 − 9 to 21 − 90 to 12
Subtracting 10 10 − 10 to 22 − 100 to 12
Subtracting 11 11 − 11 to 23 − 110 to 12
Subtracting 12 12 − 12 to 24 − 120 to 12

Where the full subtraction set goes wrong

The pressure point in subtraction 0–12 is the cells that cross back over ten — speed only drops where a borrow appears, as in 15 − 8. And subtraction has no commutativity, so there is none of addition's half-price discount: the number of separate facts to hold is larger than in addition. Problems on these sheets are built so the result is never negative.

Three that come up

Why is subtraction harder than addition?
There is no commutative shortcut, so nearly twice as many separate facts have to be recalled.
Where do children slow down?
On problems that cross back over ten, like 14 − 6. Below ten the answer is usually recalled.
Can the answers be negative?
No. Every problem is built so the result is zero or more.

What the standards and the critics actually say

Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (PDF), page 19 — 2.OA.B.2 “By end of Grade 2, know from memory all sums of two one-digit numbers.” thecorestandards.org — CCSSI_Math Standards.pdf

NCTM — Procedural Fluency in Mathematics (position statement) “Timed tests do not assess fluency and can negatively affect students, and thus should be avoided.” nctm.org — Procedural Fluency in Mathematics

youcubed — Fluency Without Fear “For about one third of students the onset of timed testing is the beginning of math anxiety.” youcubed.org — Fluency Without Fear